ISBN 9783843908993

978-3-8439-0899-3, Reihe Biophysik

Paula González Avalos
Image and model based methods for mechanical phenotyping of cells in 3D

143 Seiten, Dissertation Universität Heidelberg (2013), Softcover, A5

Zusammenfassung / Abstract

Cells and tissues are constantly exposed to mechanical forces. Understanding how these forces act on cells to regulate essential processes like development, differentiation, tissue homeostasis and how their alteration is related to disease requires the characterization of their mechanical properties. Several methods have been developed to study mechanical properties of cells and nuclei. However, most of the established methods are not compatible with culturing of cells in 3D substrates, a factor which plays an essential role in defining the structural and mechanical behavior of cells naturally existing in 3D environments. In this work, image and model based methods have been developed to approach this problem and enable the characterization of the cells mechanical phenotype in 3D.